Session Twenty-Nine: The Pardoner’s Tale

Hammering Things Out

After a few moments standing around the closed doors to the shrine of Saint Eloy, several members of the company recall that they found a well-used hammer located among Gascon’s ill-gotten loot. Sir Henri knocks upon the door and asks the answering monk whether or not Saint Eloy’s goldsmith’s hammer has gone missing. The monk answers in the affirmative, and the company swiftly produces and returns the hammer.

The company are let into the shrine with much rejoicing from the attendants. Henri the innkeeper points out the beautiful murals on the inner walls of the shrine, which tell the story of Saint Eloy driving the moneylenders and priests of Ranald out of Vierzon. This leads some in the company to believe that Gascon—in reality a worshipper of Ranald—stole the hammer to get back at the saint for this slight. The rest believe that Gascon was simply stealing holy relics to sell them later.

The monks at the shrine say that they cannot afford to reward the company directly. However, they do say that they will tell the goldsmiths and jewelers located around the shrine of the company’s deed. As a result, each member of the company gets a free piece of jewelry, as well as free pilgrim’s badges, from the shrine.

The company also spends time in the marketplace restocking supplies and purchasing new equipment. Magnus buys a live chicken, for experimentation purposes.

The Hammer of Saint Eloy

Goodbyes

The company returns to The Hungry Mice to find the pilgrims getting ready to depart. They also have brief conversations with Bram, Constance, and Sir Matthias, all of whom are preparing to go their separate ways. Bram, satisfied that Gascon will finally face justice, plans to go back home and rebuild his life. Constance finds the company’s adventures far too exciting for her tastes, and hopes to find someplace quiet where she can settle down. Sir Matthias decides to travel south in search of new adventures. Before he does so, the goodly knight offers up Ambrose to the company one last time. The company refuses this request, and Sir Matthias graciously rides off on his new steed.

Just before setting out with the pilgrims, the company commandeers both Gascon’s wagon and his horses. Pierre turns out to be a much better carter than he is a horseman, and is given the task of manning the wagon for the rest of the journey.

An Accounting

Andre presents Gascon’s ill-gotten loot to Dunray the manciple, who checks it against the records in his small accounts book. After an hour of careful calculations, he returns to the pilgrims the monies that Gascon took from them unfairly. The remainder is then given to the company as their fee for guarding the pilgrimage. Everyone is very happy with this.

Lunch by the Road

After half a day of leisurely travel, the pilgrimage stops in a convenient field and has a break for lunch. Henri the innkeeper takes the company aside and apologizes, saying that the money they gave him for food at Castle Carcassonne must be made to stretch much further to accommodate the pilgrims. As a result, he will not be able to provide the company with the rich foods they were expecting. He does, however, say that he was able to set aside a basket of delectable, including wine, for them to dine on. He tells them that they are not to share it with the pilgrims.

Arnaulf the cook attempts to help Henri the innkeeper with lunch, insisting that he is a very good cook, even if he is already drunk. He is distracted and sent away by the company, before falling asleep in the grass.

During lunch, Henri tells stories about the various shrines that both company and pilgrims have previously visited, as well as those they have not yet seen. The pilgrims are appalled, as none of Henri’s information coincides in any way with what Gascon had told them. The pilgrims also note that Gascon rarely let them stay at the various holy sites for very long, hurrying them from one place to another as quickly as possible. The company somehow has even less respect than Gascon.

Andre visits a nearby stream to catch fish with his magical fishhook. He gets no bites until he accidentally pricks his finger on the fishhook and wets it with his own blood. This causes the hook to shimmer for a moment, after which Andre catches a large fish in no time at all. He is disturbed by this, but offers up the fish to enlarge the repast anyway.

Meanwhile, Magnus uses his magical knife to cut the wing off of the chicken he bought. He first touches the knife to the wing, but this has no effect. He then proceeds to try to touch the knife to the chicken, only to have the bird hop away from him, squawking its head off. When the chicken is corralled, Magnus touches the knife to the wound. It is healed, but the chicken does not regrow her wing. Magnus thanks the chicken for its service to scientific understanding before breaking its neck.

Arnaulf Briefly Befriends Magnus' Chicken

Colmar

In the evening, the company arrives at the western gate of Colmar. They ask the guards at the gate about the town and potential places to stay. The guards say that they can recommend three places, based on price range. This causes several of the pilgrims to grouse that they would very much like to stay in a nice place, for once. The company agrees, and has the guards direct them to the finest establishment in the city—the King’s Arms.

The inn is conveniently located a stone’s throw from the western gate. The company and the pilgrims pay the somewhat pricy rates for rooms, baths, food, and similar. Magnus haggles with the innkeeper to get barrels of wine and food for the pilgrims’ use. When the innkeeper tells him that he cannot let Magnus have what he wants, because he will need to keep a stock aside from the evening’s guests, Magnus lays a pile of crown on the bar and says that he is hiring out the inn for a private party. The innkeeper, looking goggle-eyed at the coin, accepts, though he does warn Magnus that the inn already has other guests, who will likely be present.

While almost everyone else relaxes, Maurice and Sir Henri visit the nearby marketplace to sell trinkets and acquire other items. Magnus goes out to hire street musicians for the party and to put up notices around town stating that he is looking to hire men-at-arms.

The Town of Colmar

The Party

As night falls, a raucous party begins in the common room of the King’s Arms. Wine and other spirits flow, the food is piled high, and the hired minstrels regale the assemblage with lively tunes. Magnus asks the normally staid Dame Britolette to dance. To the surprise of all, she says yes. Frieda, who has been telling anyone who will listen that the King’s Arms has “the good beer!” is as shocked as anyone else when Sabina invites her to dance. They join Magnus and Britolette on the dance floor, to the cheers and joy of all.

In the meantime, Renee has discovered that she has had just a touch too much to drink. She quietly excuses herself, gets directions to the privy, and steps outside. She finds the privy well-made, clean, and not terrible smelling, though a scratching noise from within makes her reticent to use it.

As she is about to close the privy door and look for other options, a dagger sinks deep into the doorframe just above her head. Renee turns and looks up, just in time to see a mysterious figure on a nearby rooftop take aim and throw another dagger. This dagger whips by Renee’s cheek, imbeds itself in the still open privy door, and forces it closed.

Renee screams.

A Rooftop Pursuit

Inside the King’s Arms, the song comes to an end. Dame Britolette bows politely to the attendants, while Frieda, red-faced, moves close to Sabina and says that she would like to ask her something.

At that moment, Renee screams. The company, along with Frieda, fetch up what arms as are readily available and pour out into the street. Renee quickly joins the group and points upward. The company watches as the mysterious figure retreats along the rooftop. Numerous ranged weapons are employed, including Sabina’s pistol. This results in a broken flowerpot, a startled cat, and the oaths of an angry resident. However, in the dark and foggy night, it is difficult to tell if any of the missiles has dealt a blow to the figure.

The company flood out into the streets. Andre, using his sailor’s training, scales the side of the building and attempts to corral the figure on the roof. The figure flees from Andre, leaping across the street to land atop the privy.

While Sir Henri demands that the figure stand down, the other company members move to either shoot down the figure or surround the privy. Andre makes a desperate leap and lands on the roof beside the figure. Below, Magnus runs at full speed and shoulder-checks the side of the privy, caving in one wall and sending a large rat scurrying into the street.

Sir Henri once again shouts his demands, stating that if the figure does not surrender, that he and his companions will give them no quarter.

“Does he always talk this much?” asks the figure.

Under his breath, Andre says, “unfortunately? Yes.”

The Mysterious Figure

 

Session Twenty-Eight: The Squire's Tale

The Affair of the Knife

Everyone is relieved at Sir Henri’s recovery, and all congratulate Pierre on his great skill.

Meanwhile, Sabina tells Charlotte that she can be free of her “wish,” if she burns it. Charlotte approaches the still smoldering campfire. She stops at the last moment, telling the others that she still needs the magical knife in order to heal the wound that she dealt to Gascon Gascoigne. Charlotte explains that she doesn’t know how she knows this, but she says that the touch of the knife is the only thing that can heal the wounds it makes. She asks the group to take her back to Vierzon as soon as they can.

The company spends a few more moments recuperating and letting Pierre bind their wounds. Magnus, who now desperately covets the magical knife, has Garnier steal it off of Charlotte and deliver it to his hand. This is effort is aided, though unwittingly, by Sir Henri, who presents Charlotte with the sword that he found in the camp earlier that evening. The fine blade proves to be Charlotte’s own sword, which she gratefully belts about her waist.

On the return trip to Vierzon, Sir Henri tells the others about his time being “dead,” and about his visitation with the strange man in yellow robes. Sir Henri says that he is convinced that they are being aided by a Ruinous Power, though he is not sure which one or why it is helping them. Sabina is deeply disturbed by this, and wonders if this is what the cultists they encountered meant by, “the Cult of the Stranger.”

Charlotte, for her part, is completely baffled by the conversation. This, plus her own exhaustion, renders her quiet and unfocused for the rest of the journey back to the town.

The Magic Knife

Reunions and Rejuvenations

The company returns to The Hungry Mice, where Charlotte is tearfully and gratefully reunited with her mother, Dame Britolette. The knight, though still reserved, expresses her deep thanks to the company, saying that if they were hired on to be the pilgrimage’s guardians, they were well-chosen.

Sabina, completely exhausted by the work of the day, goes upstairs to her room and gets ready for bed. The rest either relax in the common room or go with Magnus and Pierre to visit Gascon.

The members of the company going upstairs crowd into Gascon’s room, where they join Rauchamp and Guilbald, who are still tending to Gascon. While the others keep the pardoner and the summoner busy with idle chit-chat, Magnus surreptitiously taps the flat of the magic knife to Gascon’s chest wound.

The effect is immediate and startling. Gascon opens his eyes, sits up, and looks around the room. He cheerfully greets those people standing packed around his bed and begins talking to them most amiably.

This brief moment of lucidity is cut off by Bram the Yeoman, who slipped into the room with everyone else, and who deals Gascon a vicious blow to the face.

"Rapscallion! Swindler! Eat my fist!"

Shenanigans Ensue

The members of the company in Gascon’s room watch in amused horror as Bram punches Gascon a few more times before grabbing him by his chest bandages and roughly slamming him against the bed. Bram’s oaths—as well as Gascon’s terrified cries—are more than loud enough to reach every corner of the inn.

Those that are downstairs in the common room decide that what they’re hearing is an upstairs problem and choose not to investigate.

Sabina, who has just changed for bed, groans and sticks her head out the door to see what’s going on. She sees that almost all of the pilgrims who were in their rooms have stuck their own heads out of their own doors, and are doing much the same thing.

Sabina sees that the only door that doesn’t open in the upstairs hallway belongs to the oft mentioned but never seen prioress. As this door is also partially blocked by piles of dirty dishes and cups, Sabina begins to worry that some foul deed has befallen the prioress.

Sabina attempts to open the door, only to find that it has been barricaded on the other side with a large trunk. She shoulders the door open only to find an elderly woman, naked but for her own filth, crouched on the floor and staring into a silver hand mirror.  The woman mutters invective at the mirror, which sounds like, “filth, unrighteous, unclean, sinner,” and so on.

The woman, who is presumably the prioress, ignores Sabina until she catches her reflection in the mirror. She then demands Sabina’s name. When Sabina tells her, the woman whispers to the mirror, “show me…Sabina.” She then launches into a diatribe about Sabina’s various sins and shortcomings.

Sabina, disturbed and angry, leaves the room and closes the door behind her.

The Prioress, in Less Distressing Times

Resolving the Shenanigans

Out in the hallway, Sabina encounters Brother Martin, the prioress’ secretary, as well as the three nuns who attend on the prioress. Sabina realizes, based on the fact that all four of them are in various stages of undress, and that they are all sharing a room, that their relationship goes beyond what is typical among the faithful.

Sabina quickly relates to Brother Martin and the nuns about what she has seen. All four are horrified, and agree that something needs to be done.

Sabina borrows Renee’s net, returns to the prioress’ room, and entangles her. The prioress barely notices, only becoming aware and violent when Sabina tries to take the mirror away from her. When Sabina succeeds, the prioress collapses catatonic on the floor, beneath the net. Sabina gives the mirror to the nuns for safekeeping, and warns them not to look at it. Then, at Brother Martin’s instruction, the nuns bathe the insensate prioress and place her gently in her bed.

Sabina quickly searches the room and is unsurprised to find a slip of yellow paper serving as a bookmark in one of the prioress’ holy scriptures. It reads:

“Oh Lady, your servant Justine would do your work better if she could penetrate the falsehoods of men.”

Down the hallway, the situation in Gascon’s room eventually resolves when Magnus pulls Bram off of Gascon—though Magnus does let the man get his licks in first. Bram goes to take a walk to cool off while Gascon gets up, gets dressed, and goes downstairs for a bite to eat. Several of the pilgrims, astonished at his recovery, go with him.

In the common room, Gascon recognizes the company as the guards he hired. He also recognizes Andre, who had been left behind in Paix. Gascon welcomes the company to his employ at last, but hints that he will be paying them less because they have reached the pilgrimage more than halfway through its journey. Garnier replies with a veiled threat of his own, suggesting that “all accounts” will be settled, and quite soon.

With that, Gascon orders food for any who wants it, and tells the inn’s staff to put the company’s orders on the pilgrimage’s tab. He starts to explain that, though The Hungry Mice is quite expensive, he has managed to get a good deal for the pilgrims, but is interrupted by the master of the house. Gascon turns quite pale when the master says that the company has already paid for their own meals, and for those of the pilgrims, for the evening, and knowns the prices. After receiving several dagger-like stares from members of the company, Gascon quickly retires to his room for the evening.

Garnier, too, goes upstairs to find out what all the commotion was about. He checks in on the prioress and searches her room. After this, he notices the rather close relationship between Brother Martin and the three nuns and decides to invite himself along. We shall draw a veil over the rest of his exhausting, but exhilarating, evening.

The Prioress' Mirror

Apprehending Gascon

The company, suspecting that Gascon will attempt to flee in the night, post guards to keep watch on him. Renee sleeps in the hall outside Gascon’s door, while Maurice keeps vigil beneath Gascon’s window. Both of them soon fall asleep, but are awakened a short time later by a flurry of activity from within Gascon’s room.

Renee charges in to grab Gascon, only to find that he has barricaded the door to slow her down. She watches in impotent fury as Gascon clambers out the window and drops to the street below. Renee is able to reach the window before Gascon can flee into the darkness and manages to cast her (now clean) net over the top of him. The net does not entangle Gascon’s leg, and he still manages to run away.

Maurice, now awake, decides to end the whole business by shooting Gascon. Though he had only planned to deal the retreating scoundrel a minor wound (at least, that’s what he tells everyone), Maurice’s aim proves to be too good, and he hits Gascon square in the back of the head. The arrow also, fortuitously, hits one of the knots in Renee’s net, preventing it from penetrating as deeply into Gascon’s skull as it could have.

Gascon stops running, begins weeping, and begs Maurice to spare his life. He promises to pay Maurice a hefty sum if Maurice will just let him leave Vierzon. Maurice makes no promises, but agrees to accompany Gascon to his wagon. Meanwhile, Renee, who is still in the window, rushes to awaken Pierre.

Gascon, still netted, still with an arrow in his head, searches  through his various hiding places on the wagon for coin with which to bribe Maurice. Since Andre and the others took most of Gascon’s hidden wealth earlier in the evening, this search does not go well for Gascon. He is on the verge of overwhelming panic when he finds that Sabina left behind most of the gold coins he had sewn into his horses’ tack. Relieved, he pries out the coins and pours them into Maurice’s hands.

Gascon bows politely to Maurice, says that he hopes the matter has been concluded to his satisfaction, and compliments Maurice for his gentlemanly and pragmatic demeanor. As just that moment, Renee comes around the corner, with Pierre in tow, and slaps irons on Gascon.

A defeated Gascon argues for his innocence and release while Pierre removes the net and treats his head wound. The trio then escort Pierre back to The Hungry Mice. Magnus, who is still awake, this opportunity to test his magical knife on Gascon. Magnus wounds Gascon several times, albeit superficially, and heals him afterwards. While Magnus ruminates on what would happen if he cut off Gascon’s finger and applied the knife to the stump, Gascon pleads to the others to stay with him until morning. They do.

Gascon Desperately Tries to Make a Deal

A Bounty and a Theft

The next morning, both the company and the pilgrimage take no pains in hiding their delight at seeing Gascon’s miserable state. They discuss what is to be done with him—as well as what is to become of their pilgrimage—over breakfast. Late arrivals to the breakfast are Garnier, Brother Martin, and the nuns—one of whom wears Garnier’s hat—along with the Prioress Justine, who seems to have completely recovered from her episode.

The pilgrims all agree that Gascon should be turned into the local guardhouse. They also state that they would like to continue their pilgrimage, and would like the company to go along with them as guards. Garnier suggests that Henri the innkeeper, who is both a man of good character and one who is well-versed on the path of pilgrimage, be elevated to leader. Henri the innkeeper is delighted to find that Garnier’s suggestion is agreed upon unanimously.

Renee, Bram, and several others escort Gascon to the guardhouse, though Bram takes pains to knock around the former pilgrimage leader one last time.

“All right, I’m done.”

He is then turned over to legal custody without further ceremony. Renee is paid a 7 crown bounty for his arrest, which she dutifully shares with the rest of the company. 

Back at The Hungry Mice, Henri the innkeeper asks the rest of the company if they can pay a visit to the shrine of Saint Eloy, the patron saint of goldsmiths and horses. They agree, waiting only long enough for Renee and the others to appear.

Upon their arrival at the shrine, however, they find the gates locked up tight and a notice tacked to the frame. Pierre and Frieda relate its contents to the rest of the company.

“The shrine is currently closed due to theft. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Session Twenty-Seven: The Squire’s Tale

A Proper Waaagh

The orks by the bonfire at the bottom of the cavern hear the altercation between Andre and the ork at the top of the cavern. They shout questions to their companion, and are excited to hear that ‘umies have infiltrated their cave. Happy that they will now be able to, “execute a proper WAAAGH!” they grab their weapons.

The group of orks leaves the screaming woman in the cage behind and race across the cavern floor to the staircase that leads up to the bridge. A few see Magnus, Garnier, and Sabina and peel off to face them, while the rest ascend the stairs and surge across the bridge.

The fight is desperate and quite bloody. Notable deeds include:

• Sabina blowing away an ork at point blank range with her pistol.
• Garnier dancing around an ork and avoiding injury completely.
• Magnus breaking away from the orks, running over to the cage, and freeing the screaming woman.
• The screaming woman joining the battle on the company’s side, hurling insults, obscenities, and herself at the greenskins. She wields a small, curious-looking knife to good effect against the orks.
• Any wounds inflicted by the woman’s knife seem to bleed profusely. Indeed, several of the orks were apparently injured by the knife prior to the start of the battle. They are forced to fight with open, bleeding wounds.
• Henri stands firm between his companions on the bridge and six charging orks.
• Several members of the company push orks off the bridge to their bloody deaths.
• Sir Henri notes that one of the orks in the back ranks is frustrated, because the other orks are preventing him from entering the melee. Sir Henri convinces the ork to throw one of his companions off the bridge and take his place. The ork does.
• Proving that no clever gambit goes unpunished, the ork then takes the opportunity to bring his choppa down on Sir Henri’s head, splitting both the knight’s helmet and skull. A pall falls over the company as Sir Henri’s body topples lifeless onto the bridge.

The Angry Woman--Slightly Less Angry

Kludd the Voracious

As the battle rages, something very large stirs in one of the deepest, darkest corners of the cave and stomps its way over to the bonfire. When it steps into the firelight, the company is horrified to see that it is a huge female ogre. The ogre carries a gargantuan shovel and carries a crossbow-wielding goblin in a wicker basket on her back.

The orks and the goblins cheer and chant, “Kludd, Kludd, Kludd!”

The company, still mourning the loss of Sir Henri, take firmer grips on their weapons and prepare to meet this new threat.

But then, Kludd says, “What going on here? Why you interrupt my nap with all this noise!”

The battle ends abruptly, and the orks and goblins become shamefaced as they realize they have irritated their leader. Garnier parlays with Kludd the Voracious and promises that, if she lets the company leave with the orks’ angry captive, they promise to never bother her again.

Kludd agrees. Apparently, the orks’ prisoner never stopped yelling, which made it difficult for Kludd to nap. Kludd also goes on to say that her warband is still licking their wounds from being pushed out of their mountain stronghold by the skaven, and that they should not be picking fights with humans. She then asks the company if they have anything for her to eat.

The company apologizes profusely, having brought nothing worthwhile to sate Kludd’s massive appetite. Kludd waves them away irritably before picking up a corpse of a nearby ork and biting off its head. The company takes this as their cue to leave, dragging Sir Henri’s corpse behind them.

KLUDD!

What Became of Sir Henri

Sir Henri awakens on a bier surrounded by yellow flowers. He is greeted by a very tall, smiling man in a yellow robe, who says that he is delighted to see Sir Henri again.

The two men exchange pleasantries. Sir Henri, guessing at the figure’s true identity, says that he very much enjoyed the joust when the two men had met previously. This causes the yellow robed man to giggle and prance around the room, all the while applauding Sir Henri for his cleverness. The man says that not even Pierre made that connection.

The yellow robed man makes all manner of strange and cryptic statements, sliding quickly from one topic to another. Sir Henri struggles to both keep up with the man and get a straight answer out of him. Among the few things that Sir Henri learns definitively is that the yellow robed man is one of the Ruinous Powers.

The man then tells Sir Henri that he may ask a single question, which he might then deign to answer.

Sir Henri asks, “what is your weakness?”

The man responds that he, “delights in foiling plans. All plans. Any plans. Any time. Anywhere. But the problem, you see, is that if someone foils my plans, well, then, I have to let them do it. Otherwise, it would be very hypocritical of me.”

Sir Henri then wakes up to see a very concerned Pierre kneeling over him.

Out of the Caves

The company returns to the encampment near the walls of Vierzon. Pierre tends to Sir Henri while the rest of the company tends to the very angry woman.

The woman, who is much calmer now, introduces herself as Charlotte, squire and daughter of Dame Britolette. She says that she isn’t quite sure what happened to her, but that she went wandering outside of Vierzon to “quiet her mind” when she was attacked by orks and dragged underground. Charlotte notes that the orks allowed her to keep her dagger, which she wielded whenever one of them got bored and challenged her to a fight.

Magnus, suspecting that Charlotte’s dagger is magical in nature, asks if he can hold onto it for her. Charlotte refuses and says that this is her only remaining weapon since the orks took her sword. This prompts the company to present the well-made sword they had found in the camp, which turns out to be Charlotte’s stolen weapon.

After a few more questions, Charlotte confirms that, yes, she bought the knife off of Ludovico Giallo and that, yes, a kindly monk in Brionne offered to write a prayer for her in his book. She pulls out a tattered scrap of yellow paper and shows it to the company. It reads:

“Great Lady, hear me, Charlotte wishes to acquire a blade worthy of her hand.”

The company is interrupted by Pierre, who lets out a shout of triumph. He excitedly tells the others that he was able to bring Sir Henri back from the brink of death. At that moment a woozy, but very much alive, Sir Henri starts to sit up.

Session Twenty-Six: The Squire's Tale

Sir Henri and Magnus Against the Waaagh

The ork proves to be a most formidable opponent, shrugging off Sir Henri’s blows while dealing heavy strikes of their own. Sir Henri is spared injury thanks to his knightly armor and his great prowess with shield and mace. Realizing he cannot beat the ork with strength alone, he shifts to a more tactical fighting style. He catches a blow on his shield that numbs his arm to the shoulder and weathers the crude tirades and invective hurled at him by the ork.

Magnus moves to Sir Henri’s aid, only to be feathered twice by the still concealed archer. Heedless of the arrows in his arm, Magnus goes tearing off into the forest in search of his assailant. After a merry chase, he soon finds himself face to face with a second goblin, who is holding a bow, and who looks up at Magnus with an expression of terror.

The Goblin, Moments Before Being in Melee Range of Magnus

Magnus vents his pent-up rage upon the goblin, laying them low before leaping from the forest to aid Sir Henri. Moments later, a powerful blow from Sir Henri’s mace fells the ork like a great tree. The two men recover themselves and tend to their injuries as silence once again blankets the forest.

A brief search reveals a well-worn trail that has been trod by numerous orkish and goblinish feet, as well as by one pair of human-sized footprints. Sir Henri, fearing that these last prints can belong only to Charlotte the squire, suggests continuing the search. Magnus, who has tossed the goblins’ corpses on the fire and is in the process of hewing off the ork’s head, says that thy should assemble the rest of the company first.

Sir Henri promises to wait in the camp while Magnus returns to Vierzon, ork head in hand, to rally the others.

At the Sign of the Hungry Mice

Magnus causes quite a stir in company and pilgrims alike when he kicks open the door to the common room and hurls a still bloody ork head upon one of the tables. He announces that he and Sir Henri believe that Squire Charlotte has been taken by greenskins, and that there are plans in the works to mount a rescue.

Just then, the assemblage hears terrified screams from upstairs.

The company investigates, and finds that the screamers are Guilbald and Rauchamp, a pardoner, who have come running out of Gascon’s room. Frantic, they explain that they were tending to Gascon when Dr. Jacotte just suddenly appeared in the room with them. This badly startled them, but they are glad that Dr. Jacotte is back, and they hope that he can help to make Gascon well again.

When the pardoner and the summoner bring the company into Gascon’s room to make introductions, they find that the doctor has vanished just as quickly as he had arrived.

Pierre takes the opportunity to check on Gascon and finds that the pilgrims’ leader has made no improvement. He also tends to the worst of Magnus’ arrow wounds. 

Meanwhile, Rauchamp, having recovered from his fright and hearing the company are going on a dangerous mission, tries to sell purity seals to any who would buy them. He persists, despite the lack of interest, but does finally manage to wrangle some coin out of the company in return for shutting up, which he happily does.

Doctor Jacotte, I Presume

Two miles or so away, Sir Henri waits for Magnus and the others in the greenskins’ camp. After more than an hour of patient waiting, he is startled by a bright flash near the campfire and the sudden appearance of a distinguished, if befuddled, man. Sir Henri recognizes him as the gentleman who appeared during the cultist battle earlier in the day.

The gentleman politely greets Sir Henri and asks where he is. He is pleased to discover that he is just outside of the walls of Vierzon, and says that he is part of a pilgrimage that is, he hopes, still in that town. Sir Henri replies that the pilgrimage is there, and that it has been delayed in leaving due to the grievous injuries of its leader, Gascon.

The Learned Doctor Jacotte

The gentleman introduces himself as Doctor Jacotte and says that he would be more than happy to return to the town and tend to Gascon. This prompts Sir Henri to explain that he and his companions will soon be traveling deeper into the woods in search of Charlotte who, for reasons unexplained, was the one who gave Gascon his deadly injury.

Talk soon turns to how Doctor Jacotte keeps showing up everywhere. The doctor explains that he recently acquired a lovely horse statuette from a Tilean merchant, which he holds out to Sir Henri. He says he discovered a stud on the horse’s belly that, when pressed, activated some magic that has been transporting him to various places. Doctor Jacotte says that he has been to a place that he thinks he was Cathay, a trackless jungle, a foggy moor, and numerous other places. He also admits to being the man who had briefly appeared on the battlefield earlier, and says that he was simply trying to ask the cultists for directions when they attacked him.

The sound of a great troop of people moving through the wilderness attracts both the doctor’s and the knight’s attention. Doctor Jacotte lays a hand on Sir Henri’s shoulder and points up into the woods and says, “I see people on horses. Coming this way!”

“That must be my companions,” says Sir Henri, as the two men vanish in a flash of white light.

A Very Brief Interlude Near the Eye in the North

Doctor Jacotte and Sir Henri appear on a frigid glacier beneath the burning gaze of a red and setting sun. Sir Henri gallantly loans his cloak to the chilly doctor, who apologizes profusely for the unpredictable enchantment of his horse statuette.

The two men realizes they have much greater concerns, however, for a massive host of Beastmen, perhaps a thousand strong, come into view on the far side of the glacier. The beastmen charge across the ice, kicking up clouds of frost and exhorting the Chaos God Khorne.

Before the beastmen can reach them, the magic activates again and…

"Well, that's not great!"

Back at the Camp

Sabina rolls her eyes as Doctor Jacotte and Sir Henri disappear and reappear again. She wastes no time, once both men are back, to interrogate the doctor about where he got the statue and if he made any stupid wishes with any stupid monk in stupid yellow robes. The doctor praises her for her erudition. He says that he got the statuette from a Tilean merchant and got a wish from a monk in Brionne, before the pilgrimage left. He confesses to have forgotten all about the wish until just now, but he is able to produce the slip of paper the monk gave him from a pocket on his waistcoat.

Merciful Lady, before he becomes infirm, Doctor Jacotte wishes to see the four corners of the Earth.

It takes no time at all for Doctor Jacotte to make the connection between his wish and his random teleportation abilities. When he asks how the situation can be remedied, the company says that burning the wish seems to work. Doctor Jacotte gives the smoldering corpses of the goblins a wide berth and tosses the scrap of paper into the fire pit. As the paper ignites, sparkles of magic flare up around the horse statuette before flitting off into the night sky.

With the good doctor hopefully cured of his magical wanderlust, Sir Henri turns the company’s attention to finding Charlotte. He points out the path that he found earlier, and says that he thinks that the squire will be found wherever the path ends. Sir Henri also fears that time cannot be spared to return Doctor Jacotte to Vierzon. The doctor, both pragmatically and gratefully, asks to come along to assist the company. Sir Henri allows the doctor to hold his lamp.

The Cavern

The path eventually descends into a shallow defile, where a fast-flowing stream runs along its lowest point. The stream disappears underground at the far end of the defile, and the company notes a well-traveled cavern entrance close beside it. Listening at the entrance, the company can hear the distant shouts of orks and goblins.

The company proceeds into the darkness, aided by Doctor Jacotte’s lamp and Andre’s keen night vision. They soon find themselves in the upper reaches of a cavern, which features a large wooden bridge and several crumbling stone buildings. The cavern stretches out into darkness below them, and the company can see several campfires. Around the largest, several orks eat, sing, punch one another, and occasionally taunt a screaming woman who has been locked up in some kind of cage.

The Cavern

The company splits up. Magnus, Garnier, and Sabina take a curving staircase that leads down to the cavern floor. Garnier uses one of his torches to light their way, and the trio carefully creep from rock to rock. The rest continue down the bridge, where firelight flickers in a ruin at the far end.

The two wings of the company acquit themselves very well, keeping hidden, and killing sentries as they find them. Their run of good luck comes to an end when Andre fires his bow at an ork sitting at the fire in the ruined building. The arrow goes wide and the ork comes stomping out of the ruin to investigate.

“Hey! Why you shoot at me?!”

“Uh, well. Just testing out the new bow, and I didn’t want to hit you!”

“Why not?!” shouts the ork, coming closer. “You think me not ‘ard enough to take puny arrow? Me plenty ‘ard. HEY! You not ork or gobbo. You one of them puny humans!”

Andre gulps, for it seems that the real battle is beginning…

Session Twenty-Five: The Squire’s Tale

Hubris

The company continues to make the acquaintance of the pilgrims while the GM curses his desire to have all of these NPCs in the first place.

Honestly, What Was I Thinking?!

Dinner is served. Brother Martin, of the Abbey of the Lady’s Grace, excuses himself and takes a plate upstairs to his superior, the Prioress Justine, who has been secluded in prayer in her room since the morning. During dinner, Andre becomes reacquainted with several of his traveling companions, including the Gentlewoman Alisoun and Arnaulf, a cook. They appear to be his drinking buddies as well, and Arnaulf seems to have started without him.

A pinch-faced man, who introduces himself as Dunray, a manciple for a girls’ finishing school in Brionne, politely asks Sir Henri about the cost of the meals. When Sir Henri replies and Garnier confirms, Dunray flies into a barely disguised rage and begins paging through a small journal he is carrying. He begins railing at another of the priests among the pilgrims, Father Loutrec of the Church of the Bleeding Heart, that Gascon has been soaking them for coin this entire time.

Magnus, being surprisingly supernumerate, goes over to both sooth the fires of wrath and to check Dunray’s numbers. When Dunray ignores him, Magnus snatches the accounting ledger out of his hand. Dunray turns on Magnus and, cowed by the mercenary’s terrifying visage, relents. Things simmer down quite a bit in the common hall after that.

Dunray the Manciple

Bounty Hunting

Renee briefly excuses herself from dinner to run over to the local watchhouse and ask about claiming a bounty on Gascon, who seems to be a criminal of one stripe or another. The constable on duty says that Renee can, of course, claim a bounty if she brings in both the culprit and proof of their crimes.

Renee returns to the Hungry Mice with a song in her heart and her net at the ready.

Further Discussions

Pierre checks in on Gascon and finds the pilgrimage leader no better. Pierre unwraps the dressings and discovers that Gascon’s wound still bleeds. He convinces Guilbauld and several of his companions to hold Gascon down while he salts the wound. Gascon screams, but the bleeding finally seems to ebb.

Downstairs,  Andre suggests that the company recover any cash that Gascon has been hoarding for redistribution to the pilgrims. The pilgrims are all delighted by this idea. They mention that Gascon has a wagon parked by the stables, and they suspect that their funds are hidden inside. Andre collects several of the company and offers to “have a look” and see what can be found.

Meanwhile, Sir Henri and Sabina question Dame Britolette about her missing daughter/squire, Charlotte. The knight provides them with a description. Sir Henri promises to search the town immediately, to see if Charlotte can be found, with a promise to search the surrounding areas in the morning.

The Wagon

Gascon’s wagon is hard to miss. With a little help from Frieda (using the lockpicks gifted to her by Garnier), the company unlocks the door and climbs inside.  They find the interior very neat and tidy, with all of Gascon’s sundry possessions stored on shelves with gated fronts.

A quick search of the wagon reveals a loose floorboard beneath a throw rug. When this is pried up, the company discovers something wrapped in sackcloth resting on top of a coffer. Maurice unwraps the parcel and reveals a well-worn hammer. In the coffer, the company finds a large quantity of money in various denominations and a small pouch containing old fingerbones.

Andre crawls under the wagon, but finds nothing. Maurice lifts the seat of the buckboard to find that Gascon has stowed away the vestments of various different religious faiths underneath, along with a weighty pouch of coin. Meanwhile, Sabina, who has been looking over Gascon’s horses, finds that several gold crown have been carefully sewn into hidden pouches in the tack.

The Search

With sufficient evidence that Gascon is, at the very least, a suspicious person, the rest of the company joins forces with Sir Henri to search Vierzon for Squire Charlotte. They find that the town is both small and relatively quiet at night. The company passes by the Shrine to Saint Eloy, which is surrounded by goldsmiths’ and jewelers’ shops, all of which are closed.

The company hears some strange cries in the distance. Following the sound, they come upon a very large, very unusual bird perched on the corner of a building. Maurice notes a glint of silver on one of the bird’s quite formidable talons just as it beats its wings and flies away. Driven by curiosity, most of the company splits off to follow the bird, while Magnus and Sir Henri continue the search for Charlotte.

An Unusual Bird

The Bird

The company follows the strange bird back to the Hungry Mice, where it alights on the roof of the stable and peers into one of the second-floor windows. After some discussion, Maurice runs inside and pays a few coins for some fresh fish, which he drops on the ground by the stable. The company takes cover as the bird descends and begins eating the fish. While it is distracted, Renee springs from cover and nets the bird.

What follows is a protracted effort by the company to take the silver object—which turns out to be a ring with the head of an eagle—off of the talon of the bird, all the while trying to avoid losing eyes or fingers. Pierre finally throws a saddle blanket over the bird, which calms it enough so that the ring can be safely removed. Garnier very quickly makes the ring disappear.

As the company studies the ring, something very odd happens to the bird. It changes proportions and enlarges, until it takes on the form of a young woman. The company frees the woman, who caws as them in confusion for several moments. She then recovers her wits and introduces herself as Idelinis, a shepherd who is accompanying the pilgrims.

A Ring

Idelinis says that she bought a ring from a nice Tilean merchant and soon realized that, when she wore it, she was able to understand the language of animals. She also thinks that, after a time, the ring turned her into a bird. Since the ring can’t be found (Garnier coughs), she supposes it must have fallen off, returning her to normal. 

Sabina, sighing in irritation, questions Idilinis and discovers that, yes, she met a nice monk in Brionne who wrote her wish into his book, which she still has. Pierre takes the slip of paper from Idelinis and reads it to group.

Oh, Lady, Gentle Idelinis desires little other than a greater understanding of the beasts of the world.

The company brings a still bewildered Idelinis inside the inn to recover.

The Camp

Sir Henri and Magnus discover that someone has used a rope to scale Vierzon’s inner wall. They immediately travel to the nearest gate and convince the guards to let them out, so that they can have a look around. The guards permit them to leave, but warn them that there have been strange sounds in the forest of late.

Traveling along the wall, the two men discover that a second rope hangs down the outside of the wall as well, and that footprints at the base lead into the nearby forest. They follow the footprints a short distance before seeing firelight in the distance.

Suspecting danger, Magnus suggests that Sir Henri ride his horse into the encampment as a distraction, while Magnus sneaks through the forest to get the jump on any potential enemies. Sir Henri agrees, and rides toward the camp with lamp held high and armor clanking noisily through the night.

The two men reach the camp at roughly the same time. Studying it, they find that the tents and goods are crude and poorly cared for, and that, other than snores issuing from a nearby tent, it seems deserted.

Sir Henri dismounts and approaches the camp while Magnus creeps closer. An instant later, a goblin leaps from behind a tree to strike Magnus down, while an arrow flies from some other quadrant of the forest to ping harmlessly off of Sir Henri’s helmet.

While the concealed archer continues firing, Magnus and Sir Henri close in on the goblin and, between the two of them, quickly dispatch them.

This altercation rouses the sleeper in the tent, who steps out into the firelight and reveals themselves to be an ork of prodigious size. The ork hefts a huge, meat cleaver-like axe and charges at Sir Henri, letting out a wild roar.

“GORK AN’ MORK! GORK AN’ MORK! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Idelinis the Shepherd